lundi 24 octobre 2016

Expressway To Your Skull (1968):Although Buddy Miles' alchemical fusion of psychedelia, blues, and soul did not truly coalesce until his masterpiece Them Changes, his debut LP, Expressway to Your Skull, remains an inspired and original statement of intent, a record that's both timeless and an unmistakable product of counterculture consciousness.Each of the album's seven songs is a fascinating montage of sounds and styles -- acid-fuzz guitar collides with zig-zagging funk horns, and shrieking keyboards meet juke joint blues riffs head on.Not everything works -- a cover of Sam & Dave's "Wrap It Up" is more leaden than lively, and the instrumental "Funky Mule" feels like filler -- but the remaining material is brilliant, its twists and turns navigated by Miles' deeply soulful vocals and monster drumming (by Jason Ankeny).Electric Church (1969):Buddy Miles' second album (credited to Buddy Miles Express) gets most of its attention in retrospect for the role of Jimi Hendrix, who produced part of it .On its own merits, though, it's a fairly respectable soul-rock album. Hendrix was referring to his own material as "electric church" music on some occasions in the late 1960s, and likely he had something like the soul-funk-rock fusion of Band of Gypsys in mind when he conceived this.Of course Miles played in Band of Gypsys, and there wasn't any way the music he was writing and singing on his own was going to measure up to what Hendrix was doing.On the other hand, here his writing and singing benefit from not being placed within the context of a band in which Hendrix was primarily responsible for those functions (thus leading to inevitable unfavorable comparisons), as was the case on the Band of Gypsys album.The songs are mostly vehicles for Miles' high, soulful vocals and the energetic funky arrangements, but as such things go they're pretty solid and pleasurable.Naturally for some listeners, the go-to highlights will be &"69 Freedom Special," which has some good Jim McCarty wah-wah licks, and &"Miss Lady," While the majority of this is feel-good and brassy, Miles does show he's capable of handling more tender soul melodies and sentiments in &"Cigarettes & Coffee" and &"My Chant." (by Richie Unterberger).Tracklisting:01.Train - 4:5502.Let Your Lovelight Shine - 3:2403.Don't Mess With Cupid - 2:3704.Funky Mule - 4:4005.You're The One (That I Adore) - 6:2006.Wrap It Up - 6:3707.Spot On The Wall - 3:3008.Miss Lady - 4:5209.69 Freedom Special - 2:4610.Cigarettes & Coffee - 8:4311.Destructive Love - 4:1812.Texas - 8:0513.My Chant - 4:3414.Wrap It Up - 5:4501-07: Expressway To Your Skull (1968)08-14: Electric Church (1969)Expressway to your skull (1968):*Buddy Miles (Organ, Bass, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals*Jim McCarty (Guitar)*Virgil Gonsalves (Flute, Sax, Wind)*Terry Clements (Saxophone)*Marcus Doubleday (Trumpet, Flugelhorn)*Bill McPherson (Flute, Sax, Wind)*Billy Rich (Bass)*Herbie Rich (Organ, Saxophone, Sax)*Ron Woods (Drums)Electric Church (1969):*Buddy Miles (Drums, Vocals)*Jim McCarty (Guitar)*Bill Rich (Bass)*Duane Hitchings (Organ)*Bobby Rock , James Tatum, Tobie Wynn (Saxophone)*Peter Carter, Tom Hall (Trumpet)HereOrThere 1There 2